Former Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador Demola Onofowokan, has clarified that the recent protests in Ghana demanding Nigerians to leave are not aimed at the entire Nigerian population but specifically at certain categories of traders.
Speaking in an interview with Arise News, Onofowokan noted that the call is largely directed at tertiary-level traders and individuals deemed undesirable to Ghana’s economic framework. He stressed that the issue is not a new development but one that has been gradually building up over the years.
“There’s a lot to this. The call for Nigerians to leave Ghana is not actually for Nigerians as a whole to leave Ghana. I think the focus is on the tertiary traders and people whom I would describe as probably undesirable to their system, to their economy,” he said.
The former envoy highlighted that the tensions stem from economic competition, especially in the retail and informal trading sectors, where Nigerian nationals have gained considerable dominance.
“This has been brewing for years. Yes, we are Ghana’s biggest trading partner in Africa. 60% of ECOWAS trade exchange resides in Nigeria, 40% probably in Lagos. We have a very cordial relationship with Ghana, I bet, with some rivalry, especially in sports, but we have more in common than just trading,” he explained.
Onofowokan pointed to historical ties between Nigeria and Ghana, including shared pre-independence institutions and military collaborations, as evidence of deep-rooted connections between the two West African nations.
He referenced the 1969 expulsion of Nigerians under the administration of Ghanaian Prime Minister Kofi Busia, noting that although many Nigerians returned home, a significant number remained in Ghana.
“The current situation of asking Nigerians to leave their country is very economical. Ghana’s economy is struggling, trying to come up the way it was before, but the trade, especially tertiary trade, has been dominated by Nigerians,” he said.
Onofowokan also criticized the Tinubu administration for its failure to appoint an ambassador or high commissioner to Ghana, arguing that such a diplomatic presence might have helped de-escalate tensions early on.
“It also has to do with our level of representation. I think if we had an ambassador or High Commissioner on the ground, it probably won’t get to this, because a high commissioner or an ambassador would have made contacts at the highest level, starting from ministerial, like I did, up to the highest level,” he concluded.
The former diplomat emphasized the need for urgent diplomatic engagement to prevent the situation from escalating further and to protect the interests of Nigerians legally residing and doing business in Ghana.
